X Removes Hashtags from Promoted Posts
“Starting tomorrow, the esthetic nightmare that is hashtags will be banned from ads on X.”
– Elon Musk, June 26, 2025
With that tweet, X (formerly Twitter) made it official:
Hashtags are gone from promoted posts.
Screen space will now cost more — depending on how much of it your ad occupies.
This isn’t just about platform cleanliness. It’s about redefining how attention is bought.
What’s Changing
- Hashtags are banned from all ads
No more clickable tags, no branded campaign hashtags, no hijacking trending topics through paid posts. - Ad pricing now depends on screen size
A full-screen vertical ad will cost significantly more than a smaller one. The bigger your ad, the higher the price — a move Musk says is meant to discourage giant, disruptive formats.
A New Philosophy in Platform Design
X is shifting from social-first to placement-first logic — turning the feed into something closer to a media grid than a dynamic community.
This update means:
- Clean, static-looking promoted posts with no clickable escape routes
- Greater emphasis on visual hierarchy and scroll psychology
- Precise pricing for attention real estate, not just audience targeting
How Marketers Should Respond
- Rethink your copy: No hashtags = no shortcuts. Your message must hold its own, without relying on discovery mechanics.
- Design for clarity, not size: Bigger doesn’t mean better anymore. Pay more for impact, not clutter.
- Test attention economics: Placement, shape, and silence might outperform traditional CTA-heavy formats.
